


a cup of coffee

by maerzkindt



Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst with a Happy Ending, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, M/M, coffee symbolism, i don't even like coffee
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-03
Updated: 2017-01-03
Packaged: 2018-09-14 11:45:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9180127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maerzkindt/pseuds/maerzkindt
Summary: Law is a medical student, Kid a retail worker, and they're both the stubborn boyfriend who refuses to depend on the other.this was a gift for ikathemadhatter.tumblr.com for the one piece secret santa event. Happy holidays!





	

When he awoke, the spot on the mattress beside him was empty. Again. Eustass Kid grunted discontentedly and turned his eyes to the clock on the pile of books next to their makeshift bed. His mood darkened further when he realised he had exactly 37 minutes left until his shift started.

He heaved himself off the mattress and took a few moments to stretch and massage his stump. It was aching, but only lightly. The day wasn’t doomed from the start, then. He made his way into the living room, not bothering to dig up a clean (or at least clean-looking) shirt from the pile of clothes on the floor of his side of the bed. He knew he should have tidied it up yesterday, but it hadn’t exactly been his first priority upon getting home after ten hours of fighting small children and adults alike to prevent them from climbing the shelves to snatch that very last lego set from the top. He hated Christmas.

The tangled mass of blankets and dark hair at the kitchen table stirred a little when he turned on the coffee machine and it gave off its signature high-pitched tormented squeal. Kid frowned at the slumped figure and the bulky medical books surrounding it, forming a half circle around the chair and another one on the table. Only the dead mice and magic herbs required for a full-on dark ritual look were missing.

The coffee machine coughed one last drop of coffee into the cup he had placed under it and made another sound that sounded suspiciously like a dying animal. Kid put the cup down on the table more forcefully than necessary, and finally the mess at the table began to untangle itself. One of the blankets slid down and revealed a tousled tuft of hair and half-opened eyes with bags under them that looked even worse than Kid’s own.

“Fuck”, said Trafalgar Law in a hoarse voice, “what time is it?”

Kid only shrugged and went for the bathroom. Law shed another blanket and rubbed his temples. He had only intended to study a little past midnight… he should have known where the endeavour would end, though- this had happened before. In fact, every day for the past week or so.

He couldn’t convince himself to get out of his position on the chair yet even though it was supremely uncomfortable, so he stayed with his hands wrapped around the coffee cup, listening to the sound of rushing water from the bathroom.

He must have dozed off again, so the shout startled him. Law lifted his head from his arms and turned it halfway towards Kid who was now standing in the bathroom door, sporting a black shirt that seemed already wet again from the freshly showered strands of red hair dripping onto it.

“Where the fuck is my eyeliner?!”, he repeated.

Law turned away again and took a sip from his cup. His head was hurting, and Kid’s shouting didn’t make it better. _I’ll kill him_ , he thought.

“Trafalgar!”

“I don’t fucking know!”, he shouted back and winced as his head began throbbing even harder. “I didn’t take it”, he said more quietly.

“I have to be at work in fifteen minutes!”

“I said I didn’t take it!”, Law repeated, annoyed. “I haven’t moved from this spot all night.”

Kid had suddenly appeared in the kitchen again, having apparently given up on the eyeliner. He wasn’t finished with bothering Law, though.

“Yeah, about that.”

“No.”, groaned Law and buried his face on the table again. He could hear Kid rummaging around in the cupboards, then settling down opposite to him.

“You can’t keep doing this.” His voice sounded concerned but there was also an underlying anger in it, and Law couldn’t quite place who it was aimed at. “I know you have that exam soon, but you still have to get some sleep.”

“I do”, Law muttered, still refusing to look up.

Kid sighed, frustrated. “You know what I mean.”

Now his hand was on Law’s head, slowly ruffling through his hair. “I admire your determination to ace every test and graduate top of your class and become the best surgeon ever, but…”

He paused and Law felt like his heart had just missed a beat. _Not again_ , he thought, _please don’t_ -

But Kid continued anyway, almost desperately. “-You don’t have to do this, Law. Not for me. I… I don’t want you ruining yourself over trying to- to help me-“

He spit out the last words like he was disgusted at their meaning, and it became too much.

“Goddamn it, why won’t you let me do this?!” Law stared Kid right in the face for the first time, his body suddenly tense. He hadn’t wanted to shout but he couldn’t help it. _Why can’t you understand this? I’ve told you a thousand times, why can’t you just accept it?_

He lowered his voice and tried to place his right hand over Kid’s which had been caressing his head just a moment ago.

“I love you. I’ve always wanted to be a doctor, but I want to be a great one now- to support us both, so we can pay for the apartment, your prosthesis, so you can take some time off-“

Kid pulled his hand away, his face distorted. He looked like he wanted to respond something, but then he just stood and walked out.

“Taz!”

The door slammed. Law, who had been trying to pull free from the leftovers of his blanket cocoon to follow him, sank back into his chair. _Now this is just great. Congrats, Trafalgar_.

He was studying to become a surgeon, not a psychologist! He didn’t know how to handle this. They had been living together for months now, and they still had fights about who should pay the electricity bills and the bus fares. All because they both couldn’t bear the thought of being the one who needed support. He knew Kid felt useless sometimes, but he was the one actually working, bringing home cash so they didn’t starve and could dream of having an actual bed someday.

Meanwhile Law was just studying, going to university, coming home late and studying some more- spending all his time on the distant goal of being a surgeon and making so much money that they didn’t have to worry about anything anymore. Kid didn’t really seem to know what he wanted to do with his life yet, but it certainly wasn’t toiling in retail six days a week. He did it anyway, though- for Law.

 _And you still worry about how I am doing._ He chuckled bitterly. _You make me coffee and lecture me on getting enough sleep. As if I was the one sacrificing myself for you. It makes me sick._

The rest of his coffee was still lukewarm, and he downed it in one big gulp. Then he went for a shower, too- it was the best place to think.

***

Kid opened the front door slowly, trying to pick up any sounds from inside. He was only greeted by silence.

“Law?”

No answer. Maybe he’d gone out. Maybe this was retaliation for this morning. A part of him regretted it, but another part screamed that he was still right. Law was so focused on the future- their future- that he forgot to care for himself in the present.

He took off his shoes, his feet crying out in relief after hours of walking up and down shop aisles, into the store room and out again. All they needed him to do right now was to lie down on the couch and never get up again. Or at least not for some hours.

But when he stepped into the living room, the couch was already occupied. A certain dark-haired young man in a dark blue sweater was lounging on it, a tray with two cups resting on the small table beside him. He looked up from his book and smiled.

“Hey. Want to come here for a bit?”

Kid was on top of him in half a second and Law laughed, only to be shut up by a kiss that left them both a little breathless. Kid nuzzled his head into the crook of Law’s neck, and Law buried his fingers in his soft red hair.

“I’m sorry about earlier”, he said. “I shouldn’t have shouted at you.”

“You’re forgiven… under one condition.” Kid looked up at him, a mischievous smile on his lips.

“And what would that be?”

Kid brought his mouth very close to Law’s ear. “Promise not to let me sleep alone again?”

His slightly raspy voice awakened something in lower regions of Law’s body, and he pulled his boyfriend into another kiss while moving one hand from his head to his lower back and under his shirt. He traced circles on his skin as Kid made a small, soft noise and began to slowly rock his hips.

Before he could get too overwhelmed by the lovely, hungry red-haired mess on his lap, Law pulled away a little and grabbed one of the cups from the tray. Kid pouted for a moment, but his face lit up again when Law handed it to him and he understood.

“Promise to let me make coffee for you too?”, asked Law with a small smile and took the other cup.

“Deal”, said Kid, also smiling. They toasted each other and took a sip.

“...ew.”

“Excuse me?!”

“You still have a lot to learn, darling.”

“Hey, I tried!”

“I appreciate it. I still demand compensation for having had to taste this, though. Right now.”

“Alright...”

**Author's Note:**

> and then they had very good sex which you'll have to imagine because I can't write smut for the life of me. (as you probably already noticed by the awful cheesiness of ...some... lines... I'm sorry  
> and yes, Eustass --> "Taz" because I like it.
> 
> [I incorporated a wonderful piece of fanart by my giftee into this, look them up!](http://ikathemadhatter.tumblr.com/post/148402158998/otp-challenge-day-three-grumpy-morning-heads)


End file.
